Truck overturns after BEST bus rams into it

MUMBAI: A BEST bus driver was arrested by the Borivli police on Friday for ramming into a truck, causing injuries to six persons, including a senior citizen. The accident took place around 7am near Sumer Nagar junction on the SV Road.

BEST bus no 203—moving from Dahisar to Juhu—had only a few passengers on board. The truck involved in the accident was carrying tender coconuts. It was headed from Kora Kendra to Borivli (E) and was moving perpendicular to the bus. "The bus driver, Kunal Achrekar, 29, was in a great hurry and did not wait for the truck to pass by," said senior inspector Bhagwan Chate, Borivli police station.

"The BEST driver accelerated ahead and rammed into the left side of the truck's rear end. This caused the truck to lose balance and turn turtle," Chate said.

The Borivli police was informed and they rushed all the victims to Bhagwati Hospital in Borivli. The victims were treated at the hospital and discharged.

BEST spokesperson Virendra Bagul said six persons, including a 62-year-old passenger, Mangal Das, were injured. Apart from the bus driver, two other BEST staffers, who were off-duty but were travelling in the bus, were hurt. "One of the off-duty staffers is a BEST inspector while the other is a bus driver. Both of them are out of danger," Bagul said.

The truck driver, Imran Ahmed (27), and the cleaner, Ayyapan Shetty (22), also sustained injuries in the mishap.

Achrekar has been booked under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC. A medical examination showed that he wasn't under the influence of alcohol.